Ruthie Davis & Steve Cook on "Do The Right Thing"

Joining me for episode #227 are Ruthie Davis and Stephen Cook, talking about the book that they edited, Do the Right Thing: Real Life Stories of Leaders Facing Tough Choices.'

Episode page: https://www.leanblog.org/227 

While this episode isn't focused on Lean, per se, I think you'll enjoy the discussion and I highly recommend the book, which highlights the role of ethics and integrity in leadership… hence “doing the right thing” and being a great leader who others chose to follow.

The book is inspired by the life and lessons of Don Davis, who served as CEO of Stanley Works (now Stanley Black & Decker) from 1966 to 1988. After retiring as CEO, Don volunteered to teach a leadership seminar for the MIT Leaders for Global Operations program, which I was fortunate to take as a student there. You can read his obituary here.

Ruthie is Don's daughter and Steve was, like me, a student of Don's at MIT, so they combined their efforts to publish a compilation of compelling stories from Don's students about real life leadership challenges that they faced and how Don's “leadership mantras“ helped them in those times.

Stephen Cook is currently a co-founder and Executive Managing Director of the private equity firm, LFM Capital. Previously, he was a Principal with TVV Capital, following his role as COO of MFG.com, and 11 years of operations leadership roles at Dell. Prior to joining Dell, Steve served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy, where he flew combat missions in support of Desert Shield. He is a fellow graduate of the MIT Leaders for Global Operations program, a year ahead of me, and we worked together at Dell at the turn of the century and have kept in touch since. Read his bio.

Ruthie Davis is an entrepreneur and designer, the founder and CEO of the high-fashion Ruthie Davis shoes. Her shoes are a “top choice of celebrities and fashion tastemakers including… Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Jennifer Lopez; Halle Berry, Sofia Vergara, Taraji P. Henson and Shailene Woodley… and Emma Roberts, Zendaya Coleman, and Rumer Willis.” Ruthie was a recipient of Babson College's “Entrepreneur Hall of Fame” award in 2015. Read her full bio here.